Welt-cutting machine.



No. 803,080. PATENTED OCT. 31, 1905.

R, B. TILTON.

WELT CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED .TULY12,1900

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1v No. 803,080. PATENTED OCT. 31, 1905.

R. B. TILTON.

WELT CUTTING MACHINE.-

APPLIOATION FILED JULY12, 1900.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RUFUS E. TILTON, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM B. ARNOLD, OF NORTH ABINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

WELT-CUTTING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 12, 1900. Serial No. 23,313.

1'0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RUFUS E. TILTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brockton, county of Plymouth, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Welt-Cutting Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a speclficatlon, like letters on the drawings representing like arts. p My invention is a machine for cutting welt-strips, particularly of the kind shown in the patent granted to William B. Arnold, No. 646,592, April 3, 1900.

My invention has for its ob ect the provision of means for cutting a series of similar serrations or teeth with exact uniformity along one side of a practically endless weltstrip; and to this end the mechanism comprises a directing-table and width-gulde or holder, feeding mechanism by means of which the welt is fed evenly, and cutting mechanism, the latter cooperatin With the before-mentioned parts to cut t e desired notches or teeth with great regularity uniformly as the stri is fed along.

In the preferre embodiment of my invention I'employ a plurality of reclprocatlng cutters separated from each other for convenience of operation and advantageous manipulation of the strip and also for securing extreme nicety and accuracy of out.

In the accompanying drawings, in whlch I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 shows the machine in front elevation, parts being broken away for clearness of illustration. Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on theline 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows the machine in slde elevation, viewing Fig. 1 from the left-hand side. Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detail in section, taken on the line 4 4, Fig. 1.

The framework may be of any desired kind or character, according to the particular kind of o erating mechanism which may be employe and is herein shown as comprising side posts a a, which support a cross-tab1e a between them adjacent their lower ends and having guideways a intermediate their ends and supporting journal-boxes a at their upper ends, while at the forward side of the post or column a is a brace a 1n which a walking-beam b, to be described, 1s mounted.

In the journal-bearings a 1s mounted a driving-shaft I), provided at one end with usual fast and loose pulleys b b and carrying an eccentric crank b in line with and above the guideways a and which operates a pitman b connected at b to a ram or slide 1), in which is secured in any suitable manner, as by a set-screw 6 a tool-head b, which carries the cutting tool or tools.

At its oppositeend the shaft b is provided with a disk or face plate I), to which is cocentrically secured a link I), pivoted at 12 to the lever or walking-beam I) already mentioned, and at the opposite end of said lever is pivoted at b, by means of a link Z1 a pawl and ratchet, preferably a pair thereof, as indicated at If I)", normally held by springs b in engagement with ratchetwheels b I), mounted on a shaft 6, provided with a gear I), which meshes with a ear I; of a shaft 6 The shafts b I) carry eed-rolls b I) at the rear of the table M, which serve to pullthe Welt-strip along with the precise speed required, the welt-strip being indicate in dotted lines in Fig. 4 at s.

The pawl-and-ratchet mechanism described is provided for securing delicate and accurate feed, and .in order to accommodate the machine to cutting different sizes of welts or welts having a different specified number of teeth for a given length I have pivoted the link b to the face-plate 6 in a slideway 1), adjustable therein by means of an adjusting-screw b, operated by a thumbnut 6. Thus the machine may be adjusted to feed the welt with any speed desired relatively to the reciprocations of the cutters. As shown, there are a plurality of these outters 12 6 (herein represented as of V shape,) although the shape may be varied to suit the kind of teeth to be out, said cutters being held in the cutter-head by set-screws I). These cutters are spaced apart, as is clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and cooperate with correspondingly-shaped apertures b b in the to plate I) of a width-guide 6 formed imme iately above a directing and cutting table 6 mounted in a bed I), removably secured by bolts I) to the cross-table M. The table 6 projects rearwardly, as indicated at b, so as to direct and support the welt-strip in proper level position as it is being pulled through the machine and operated upon by the cutter or cutters.

The cutter-head may be held rigidly in position against-any possible slipping upward in the holder by means of a capstan-headed bolt 1).

In order that the bed-plate and connected parts may be quickly changed to suit different widths and sizes of welt-strips, I have provided one end thereof with a hook, as indicated at b, so that it may be quickly swung to one. side, thereby permitting the cutter-head b to be removed while the opposite bolt b of the bed-plate is being loosened.

The operation of the machine is briefly as follows: The welt-strip is fed along with an intermittent motion by the pawl-and-ratchet mechanism, and in the intervals of rest it is cut by the cutters, the latter being adjusted as desired, but preferably so as not to cut uite through the material but leave a thin s in of uncut material for holding two adj acent welts together in position to be readily torn apart along the Zigzag line formed along the center of the wide welt-strip. As the cutters come down onto the leather they form two incisions distinct from each other and separated by the width of two teeth, and then after the cutters have risen the strip is fed along the space of two teeth and two more incisions are made which cooperate with the incisions previously made to make four teeth. Then the strip'is again fed the space of two teeth and two more incisions are made, which results in a continuous series of teeth or indentations.

One advantage of having a space between the cutters is that it prevents the strain on the leather which results when the cutters are next to each other, tending to tear the fed the width or space of three teeth each time, or, in other words, the cutters, whatever number may be employed, are spaced apart a distance corresponding to the aggregate width of the same number of teeth, whatever the shape of the latter may be, and the strip is fed each time a distance equal to the space between the cutters, the successive teeth being formed each time at the same sides of the previously-formed teeth or continuously adjacent to the same side walls thereof. The shape of the cutters may be varied, the gist of the invention as relates to employing a plurality of cutters being to providemeans for making independent cuts in the material at an oblique angle to the general line of cut, so that repeated cuts may cooperate in producing the results desired. This feature is of advantage, even though a single cutter be employed.

My invention makes it possible to manu facture this kind of welt with extreme rapidity and at the same time with absolute accuracy and uniformity of cut, thereby avoiding all liability of injuring the stock and making it impossible to turn out inferior welts or welt-strips.

I am aware that very many changes in details and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention; but so far as I am aware this is the first machine ever devised. for manufacturing this kind of welt, and I therefore intend to claim the same broadly.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a machine for dividing one edge of a Welt-strip into a series of projections, comprising a cutter, means for feeding the welt in one direction, means for reciprocating thecutter toward and from one side of the welt for cutting incisions along the edge thereof, means for adjusting the depth of cut, and means for holding the welt stationary while the cutter is making said incisions.

, 2. In a machine for dividing one edge of a welt-strip into a series of projections, comprising a cutter, means for moving the cutter toward and from one side of the Welt, means for guiding the welt in definite relation to said cutter for causing the cuts to be uniform and at the an le desired in the edge of the welt, a feed-roll, means for rotating said feedroll to feed the strip a less distance each time than the width of the cutter from one outside edge thereof to the opposite outside edge thereof, and means for arresting the rotation of said feed-roll while the cutter is dividing the welt-strip.

3. A machine for dividing one edge of a welt-strip into a series of projections, comprising a cutter, means for feeding the welt in one direction, a bed-plate for supporting and guiding said Welt-strip, said bed-plate being pivotally supported at one end, and having its other end hook-shaped, to permit it to be swung from beneath the cutter, means for reciprocating the cutter, and means for holding the Welt stationary while the cutter is operating on the strip.

4. In a machine for dividing one edge of a welt-strip into a series of projections, a cutter-head carrying a plurality of separated cutters, means for moving said cutter-head and cutters toward and from one side of the welt, means for guiding the welt in definite relation to said cutter for causing the cuts to be uniform and at the angle desired in the edge of the Welt, intermittent feeding mechanism, means for operating said feeding mechanism to feed the strip a less distance each time than the distance apart of the outside edges of the outside cutters.

5. In a machine for forming serrated or toothed welt-strips, a support for the material and a plurality of movable cutters spaced apart equal to the width of two or more teeth at their broadest parts and means to feed said strip in line with said cutters for a distanoe equal to the width of two or more teeth at their widest parts that said cutter at a second descent may cut teeth at one side said previously-formed teeth.

6. In a machine for forming toothed Weltstrips, a support for the material, a plurality of cutters spaced apart in a straight line with the direction of feed of the Welt-strip a distance corresponding to the aggregate width of a corresponding plurality of teeth, and means for feeding said strip, between successive cutting operations, a distance equal to the distance between said cutters. 

